A practitioner of magic in her garden In a lush, vibrant garden, where flowers bloomed in a kaleidoscope of colors, there lived a woman who was known by many as a practitioner of magic. With her long flowing robes and a gleam in her eyes, she could often be found tending to her plants and connecting with the mystical forces that surrounded her. The garden itself seemed enchanted, as if it held secrets of its own. The air was heavy with the scent of lavender and jasmine, enticing both humans and magical beings alike. The flowers grew taller and stronger under the care of the woman, their petals shimmering with a touch of otherworldly power. Every morning, as the sun kissed the horizon, the woman would gather her tools and make her way to the garden.
Every morning, as the sun kissed the horizon, the woman would gather her tools and make her way to the garden. With each step, she could feel the energy of the earth coursing through her veins, awakening her senses and deepening her connection to the world around her. She would spend hours lost in her work, carefully tending to each plant and enchanting them with her magic.
Magic in the Garden
I bit into the apple and spit two hard black dots into my small palm. “What are these?” I asked my father. He told me they were seeds and that we could plant them and they would grow into apple trees.
We dug two little holes by the back door and dropped one seed in each. We patted the dirt down, and I sprinkled the area with water from our old metal watering can.
What my father didn’t tell me was that we would be moving in two weeks and wouldn’t be around to watch the trees sprout. Still, this is one of my formative memories during those early years when we moved five times in five years.
Children are fascinated by growing things. Michael Pollan, author of “Second Nature: A Gardener’s Education,” remembers his delight in gardening when he was a little boy: “Cradling the globe of a cantaloupe warmed by the sun or pulling orange spears straight from the sandy soil, these were the keenest of pleasures.”
Growing Healthy Kids, part of the Orange County Partnership for Young Children, is a local program that provides young people and their families garden plots so that they can experience the magic of growing fruits and vegetables. Participating families must have a child under the age of 7. Families are required to work in the garden two hours a week, but “required” is hardly the right word. Many families go every day.
“It’s incredibly satisfying to see the excitement in the faces of the children,” says Maria Hitt, project manager. “They’ll dig up a radish or potato plant and see that there’s something growing underneath. They are so proud that they grew it.”
If you visit a local garden you’ll hear at least three languages – Spanish, English, and Karen, spoken by people from Burma. There are currently 38 families with 77 children involved in the program, ranging in age from 6 months to 16 years old. For these kids, whatever their ages, gardening is a passion. A mother told Hitt recently that her young son “cried because I was too tired to take him to the garden and he so wanted to go.”
Basic lessons in sustainability are a byproductParents who work in the restaurant business bring home discarded vegetable waste to add to the community compost rather than throwing it away.
“And each site harvests rain water to irrigate,” Hitt says. “If it doesn’t rain for a few weeks, we’re in trouble.”
The staff teaches the children how to prepare the foods they harvest.
“My hope is that people are learning how to grow their own food,” Hitt says, “and that they’ll be inspired and able to continue to grow food for their families that’s fresh and organic.”
Kids’ eating habits benefit from the experience. The parents say that when their children help to grow it, they will eat foods they never would have touched before.
One of the gardens is at Carrboro Elementary School, another at the site of the future MLK Park on Hillsborough Street, and the third is at the Duke Energy power plant on James Street.
“It’s tricky to keep everything and everybody organized,” Hitt says, “especially when dealing with three languages, three locations, fickle weather, and our three-person staff is all part-time… And we’re facing funding cuts.”
Michael Pollan writes. “We need to use nature without destroying it, diminishing it. Nature and culture can, in the garden, be wedded. In fact I find in the garden some grounds for hope.”
I’m sure everyone involved in the gardens would agree. And, by the way, they always need volunteers. Contact the group at 967-9091 or online at www.orangesmartstart.org.
New Publication
I'm happy to be part of this collection of personal stories, a collaboration involving over 60 teachers of memoir from around the world. The book is published independently by the Birren Center for Autobiographical Writing, through which the authors are certified to teach.
Some of the Books I’ve Edited
A unique and beautiful exploration of Helen Keller's abiding friendship with prominent journalist Ed Chamberlin–and much more about Keller's struggles, passions, and values. The author is Chamberiin's great-great-granddaughter.
On August 8, 2020, in pandemic heat, I introduced Kristen Rademacher (via Zoom)at the launch party for From the Lake House, A Mother’s Odyssey of Loss and Love, her wrenching memoir. Flyleaf Books, our hopping indie bookstore here in Chapel Hill, NC, hosted the event. A large crowd from across the country and around the world tuned in for the inspiring multi-media event.
This poignant memoir gives a boy's view of life in Nazi-held Prague and his escape to freedom in a challenging America.
An award winning collection of powerful stories about serving the many needs of elderly and indigent patients, as one of America's first gerontological nurse practitioners.
Essays by women ministers about their challenges and victories in answering the call to ministry. A mother's 40-year struggle to raise an autistic son – and to grow up herself.This idyllic memoir recollects the sweet and simple summer pleasures of family life in mid-century Cape Cod.
If you love your pets and make sacrifices for them, you will adore this lively book about a family's needy cats.
The history of a women's shelter in Birmingham, Alabama, as told through many voices. William Buffett's short essays on nearly everything, arranged as an alphabet book. Essays about one man's dimensional life including some of his favorite recipes.Buy Losing Malcolm
A new edition of my 2001 memoir about the life and death of my first child, and how the experience of his loss profoundly altered the course of my life. Click on the cover image above to buy it in paperback or Kindle.
Buy Farther Along
What began as a one-day workshop for bereaved mothers has evolved into a reflective writing group with over 15 years of rich shared experience. The women's stories and guided exercises offer a blueprint for how to use writing as a tool for healing. (Click on the cover image above to buy it in paperback or Kindle.)
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Farther Along Blog
A group blog kept by the mothers whose stories are featured in Farther Along, the Writing Journey of Thirteen Bereaved Mothers
What Else I’m Doing
• In November, I’ll be leading a retreat for the writers in the Farther Along group in the NC mountains. We continue to meet at least twice a year. • I offer one-on-one intensive workshops with writers on week-long retreats. This service is for writers I’ve been working with for long periods. • For the second year, I led a week-long writing retreat in May at the Trinity Center on the North Carolina Coast. This was a lovely chance for women with writing projects to work, undisturbed, by day and to gather after dinner to write together and focus on one writer’s work in more detail. It will be offered again in May 2024. • I hope to again be offering live programs at Well of Mercy. Make sure you’re on their mailing list. And I hope to go live at RCWMS. Stay tuned for other workshops. • On September 30, 2021, 7 pm, I hosted a Zoom discussion with Betsy Emerson, talking with her about her magnificent new book: Letters from Red Farm: The Untold Story of the friendship between Helen Keller and Journalist Joseph Edward Chamberlin. Sponsored by the Norwich Bookstore (VT). Stay tuned for more details. • On August 8, 2020, I introduced Kristen Rademacher (via Zoom) for the launch party of her wrenching and redeeming memoir, From the Lake House, A Mother’s Odyssey of Loss and Love. • In June 2019, at Flyleaf Books our fabulous local independent store, I introduced one of my students, Peter Stein, before he read (to a packed house) from his just-published memoir, A Boy’s Journey From Nazi-Occupied Prague to Freedom in America. • Another student, Marianna Crane, gave a reading from her new book Stories From the Tenth Floor Clinic: A Nurse Practitioner Remembers at Flyleaf Books in November 2018. I was happy to introduce her. She’s offering all sorts of interesting presentations based on her book. Follow her blog, Nursing Stories. • At the end of 2018, I co-led a weekend of writing workshops at Myers Park Presbyterian Church in Charlotte, NC. Reverend Julie Hester, a Farther Along mom, taught with me. I’ve offered writing workshops to congregations all over the country. Be in touch if your congregation is interested. • In 2019, I offered two sessions of “The Art of the Condolence Note” workshop through UNC Hospitals. The sessions were for doctors, nurses, social workers and interns. I hope to offer these again after the pandemic. • I completed a 2-year contract with Heartland Hospice, training support services staff all over the country to integrate restorative writing into the hospice environment. I have written a guidebook to support and expand the reach of the trainings for hospice staff. The guidebook is now available to other hospices. Let me know if you want to discuss setting up trainings at your hospice. • The creative nonfiction group I lead meets monthly. Several members have finished books and are in the midst of publication now. Others are working on essays and linked essay collections. • I continue to meet monthly with a group of bereaved mothers here in Chapel Hill (since 2012). We’ve taken three summer weekend retreats and managed to meet for a few pond swims in 2020 and 2021. More in 2022! • I meet with another group of bereaved moms (from around the state and Virginia) for two retreats a year–and mini gatherings in between (since 2002). This group, the Farther Along Writers, is the basis for my book, Farther Along: The Writing Journey of Thirteen Bereaved Mothers. We decided to take our 20th anniversary to Red Cloud, Nebraska, home of Willa Cather, in September 2021. For our 15th anniversary of writing together, we took a retreat at Ghost Ranch, New Mexico, in November 2017, where, between writings and readings, we visited the home of Georgia O’Keeffe, hiked exquisite trails, and soaked up the stunning mountainous landscape. Our 2017 spring retreat, in the North Carolina Mountains, included a hike along a new trail at Pilot Mountain State Park. We contributed to the effort to plant abundant milkweed along the path to attract migrating butterflies. Butterflies are one of our totem symbols of renewal and hope. Our 2018 spring retreat was held in Leland, NC. In the fall of 2018, we met in the North Carolina mountains, at Montreat, with a special trip to the Biltmore Estate to see the Chihuly glass sculpture exhibit. In the spring of 2019, we met at a private home in the NC mountains. We went to the beach in the fall of 2019. Next up, the mountains, April 2020. • I’ve been offering several short retreats and “field trips” for my ongoing groups. These are not open to the general public. • I’m compiling and editing (at a sloth’s pace) several of my previously published essays and columns and some unpublished writings, perhaps for a new book.
In Addition
If you’re interested in having me offer a writing workshop or series for your civic, church, or community group, contact me. Themes include: Writing Toward Healing, Living with Loss, Living with Illness, Staff Development through Restorative Writing, The Art of the Condolence Note, and more. Even if you aren’t sure what you want or need, don’t hesitate to contact me. We can brainstorm and tailor a program to your particular needs. I look forward to hearing from you. See “Contact” to be in touch.
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This won’t be a book that I keep on my shelf. I’ll keep it until I find the right person to pass it along to. I’d suggest checking the library first before purchasing this one.
With a mere whisper, she could encourage growth, heal diseases, and ward off any pests that threatened to harm her precious garden. It was as if the plants danced with joy at her touch, swaying gently as if in gratitude. But the woman's abilities extended far beyond the realm of simple plant care. She could communicate with the spirits of nature, listen to the whispers of the wind, and harness the energy of the moon. Her garden became a sanctuary for magical creatures, who sought solace within its borders and found themselves protected by her presence. Often, visitors would come from near and far to witness the magic that unfolded in the woman's garden. They would marvel at the seemingly impossible feats she could accomplish with a single touch or incantation. Some would seek her guidance and wisdom, hoping to unlock their own dormant magical abilities. Although the woman was revered for her powers, she remained humble and grounded. She knew that her magic was not solely a gift but also a responsibility. She held great respect for the forces she worked with and ensured that her actions were in harmony with the natural balance of the world. As the sun set and darkness settled over the garden, the woman would light candles and sit in quiet meditation, embracing the serenity that surrounded her. It was during these moments of stillness that she truly felt at one with her garden and the magic it held. In her garden, the practitioner of magic discovered not only a place to practice her craft but also a source of infinite inspiration and wonder. It was a testament to the beauty and power of nature, a reminder that magic existed in every corner of the world, waiting to be discovered and harnessed by those willing to listen. Indeed, this garden had become more than just a physical space – it was a reflection of the woman's spirit and her deep connection to the mystical realms. And as long as she tended to her garden, nurturing its growth and protecting its magic, the woman would forever remain a guardian of the enchanted..
Reviews for "Elemental Magic: Tapping into the Forces of Nature in the Garden"
1. John - 1 star: I found "A practitioner of magic in her garden" to be incredibly disappointing. The story lacked depth and the characters were one-dimensional. The plot felt predictable and the dialogue was forced. Additionally, the writing style was bland and unengaging. Overall, I was not impressed with this book and would not recommend it to others.
2. Sarah - 2 stars: "A practitioner of magic in her garden" was an okay read, but it didn't live up to the hype for me. While the concept had potential, I felt like the execution fell flat. The pacing was off, with long periods of nothing happening followed by rushed and confusing plot developments. The protagonist was difficult to connect with and the supporting characters were forgettable. The writing itself was decent, but the story lacked the depth and emotional impact I was hoping for.
3. Mark - 2 stars: I had high expectations for "A practitioner of magic in her garden" but unfortunately, it didn't deliver. The storyline felt disjointed and the magical elements were poorly explained. The main character's motivations were unclear and the romance subplot was underdeveloped. The writing style was average, but it wasn't enough to redeem the overall lackluster plot. I was left feeling unsatisfied and would not recommend this book to others.
4. Emily - 3 stars: While "A practitioner of magic in her garden" had some interesting moments, I ultimately found it to be a mediocre read. The world-building was intriguing, but it lacked consistency and depth. The main character was somewhat relatable, but her actions and decisions often felt forced. The pacing was inconsistent, with slow sections dragging on and sudden bursts of action feeling rushed. Overall, I felt like the potential of the story wasn't fully realized, making it a disappointing read for me.